Judge Over Trump’s Indictment Case Democrat Campaign Donations Were ‘Illegal’ Claims Conservative Commentator

While news that Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the Trump indictment case, had made campaign donations to Democratic candidates and Democratic causes, that act in itself may not be all that shocking. One conservative commentator who goes by the nom de plume of Amuse claims that these acts may be illegal in that they violate New York state law in a Twitter thread. The thread also had Amuse citing an undisclosed source that the Biden administration was planning to actually enforce anti-picketing laws against this judge in comparison to how they acted with conservative Supreme Court justices during the Dobbs v. Jackson overturning of abortion as a constitutionally mandated right.

The exact quotation from Amuse on the illegality of election contributions by the judge is that “The Biden administration removed evidence of Judge Juan Merchan’s illegal campaign donations from the Federal Election Commission’s website after it was revealed the Trump judge had made multiple small dollar donations to Joe Biden and other Democrats in violation of Rule 4.1 of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct and Rule 100.5(A)(1)(d)(i) of the Rules Governing Judicial Conduct. If you search the FEC database for his name you won’t find it. Just a week ago they were there. Penalties for violation of the rule include expulsion from the court. “

Assuming he meant Rule 4.1 found in the 2021 NYSBA NY Rules of Professional Conduct, this rule about truthfulness in statements to others applies only to lawyers. If, however, he meant Rule 4.1 found in the 2007 Model Code of Judicial Conduct, this does state that “a judge shall not…solicit funds for, pay an assessment to, or make a contribution to a political organization or a candidate.” It is not clear that the code applies to New York judges as the rules may be modified or different depending on the jurisdiction.

However, the New York State Unified Court System does include such a provision in its rules for chief administration judges. Section 100.5 states that “a sitting judge [shall not engage in prohibited political activities like]…soliciting funds for, paying an assessment to, or making a contribution to a political organization or candidate.” No penalty for its violation was listed on the document.

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Amuse also cited a source who informed him that “The Biden administration had the FEC remove Judge Marchan’s address from their website to prevent protesters from picketing at his home. The DOJ is providing security at the judge’s home now – any protesters will be arrested for violating New York Penal Law section 215.50 prohibits picketing before or about the residence or dwelling of any individual, including judges, with the intent to harass, annoy or alarm such individual.”

SOURCE: The Biden administration had the FEC remove Judge Marchan's address from their website to prevent protesters from picketing at his home. The DOJ is providing security at the judge's home now – any protesters will be arrested for violating New York Penal Law section 215.50…

— @amuse (@amuse) April 9, 2023

Amuse compared this to the attitude taken by the Department of Justice to picketing done by anti-abortion activities. He wrote that “DOJ allowed illegal protests outside SCOTUS justices’ homes despite federal law prohibiting protests. The DOJ will NOT allow a similar situation to occur in front of the judge overseeing Trump’s case in New York.”

A two-tier justice system indeed assuming the source is correct and arrests and harsh prosecutions will be forthcoming following violations of the picketing statute.